"Disaster"
ACT ONE
Star Trek: The Long Night
Episode 3 “Disaster”
FADE UP INT. NELSON LOWER DECKS-SPACE
It’s a tense moment as WOLFE and his Marines run through a dimly lit hallway.
Weapons are drawn, night vision goggles are out. Towards the back of the team, a group of Starfleet crewmen, including DECKER, are carrying tricorders and phasers.
Somewhere in the darkness, an animal vocalizes. It’s a high pitched scream that’s going to sound very familiar if you’ve ever seen the TOS episode “A Private Little War.”
Everybody stops moving.
WOLFE’S sweating. He’s actually scared.
WOLFE (whispering)
Where is it?
DECKER looks down at his tricorder, it’s showing exactly the same display as the Proximity Alarm from the movie “Aliens”
DECKER
Fifty meters dead ahead.
WOLFE taps his comm.
WOLFE
Team one to team two; we have it cornered near cargo bay four.
CUT TO INT. NELSON WASTE PROCESSING- SPACE
PROVIX and JIMENEZ burst through the door of the waste processing room.
The smell immediately assaults them. Something has taken all the garbage and waste processing containers and thrown their contents all over the floor.
PROVIX (cringing from the smell)
Team two to team one, I think (tries not to throw up) I think we found its nest.
JIMENEZ
That is fucking rank!
CUT TO INT. NELSON LOWER DECKS-SPACE
Tight on WOLFE.
WOLFE (into comm)
I need you to hold that position until we’ve secured this area.
CUT TO INT. NELSON WASTE PROCESSING-SPACE
PROVIX and JIMENEZ exchange a look.
PROVIX
Sir, do we have to?
WOLFE (over comm)
Yes, you have to.
PROVIX
The Bolian nose is extremely sensitive-
CUT TO INT.NELSON LOWER DECKS-SPACE
CU WOLFE
WOLFE (whispering)
The Human foot is also very sensitive, Mr. Provix, and if you don’t hold that position I swear I’ll stick mine up your lazy blue ass.
He pauses. There’s a sound of movement up ahead. WOLFE scans the dark hallway: there’s a flash of something white up ahead.
Another roar from somewhere in the distance.
WOLFE (raises rifle)
Shit! Here it comes!
Phasers and disruptors blast away in the cold dark. More high pitched screams.
CUT TO INT. NELSON BRIDGE-SPACE
FROST is standing on the bridge in front of a viewscreen, there’s a very irate Starfleet captain on screen.
FROST
I assure you, sir, that we’ll be ready to get the transfer underway just as soon as we get our transporter pad-
CAPTAIN JERK
Forget it, I’m sending your personnel over in runabouts! (leans forward) and you tell that idiot Lyons that she’d better have an excellent explanation for making me wait twenty minutes.
The hail cuts unexpectedly to reveal an Akira-Class star ship named Cherokee opening one of its many shuttle bay doors, several runabouts zip towards the Nelson.
FROST taps his comm.
FROST (annoyed)
Bridge to
CUT TO INT. NELSON HALLWAYS-SPACE
SARA is leading her own team of phaser-armed crewmen down a hallway.
SARA (into comm)
Forget him; we’ve got bigger things to worry about. Run a sensor sweep on decks 12 through 15.
FROST (over comm)
It’s still near cargo bay 4 and Wolfe’s team is giving chase.
SARA and her team run in that direction, then suddenly she stops.
SARA
Which shuttle bay are those runabouts landing in?
CUT TO INT. NELSON BRIDGE-SPACE
FROST’S eyes are as wide as saucers.
FROST
Bay 2, which is near cargo bay 4. (whispers) Bugger.
CUT TO
The Runabouts have landed inside the Nelson and LIEUTENANT JG BELAR MUKET. He’s all smiles and looks extremely excited to be here. MUKET grabs his bag from the runabout and stretches his legs.
Out of nowhere, the ship’s intruder appears: it’s a gigantic Mugato and leaps from the rafters to pounce on MUKET. This one’s a little bigger then the one from the Original Series and its horn some how looks a lot more dangerous.
He’s pinned to the deck, the beast is roaring at him. Those poisonous teeth are getting closer…
A bolt of energy knocks the beast off of a terrified MUKET.
SARA, WOLFE, and DECKER enter the bay with their respective hunting parties in tow. They gather around a very surprised MUKET.
Tight on MUKET
MUKET
Uh…permission to come aboard?
FADE TO BLACK
ROLL OPENING CREDITS- THEME SONG- “Pruit Igore By Philip Glass”
FADE UP INT. DECKER’S QUARTERS-SPACE
Loud, raucous female and male sex noises echo through DECKER’S darkened bedroom. A comm beeps.
The noises get louder. The comm beeps again.
A naked, sweaty body falls against the bed. It’s CALLAHAN and she looks angry.
CALLAHAN
Damn it!
Another naked body falls next to her, its WALSH.
WALSH
Yours or mine?
CALLAHAN
Yours. Turn it off and get back here!
WALSH reaches for his comm, holding it to his mouth.
WALSH (into comm)
I still have fifteen minutes, Martin. You said I could use your quarters for an entire hour.
DECKER (over comm)
Finish fast, the Commander wants you to escort our new engineer around the ship.
WALSH sighs then turns to a very disappointed CALLAHAN.
WALSH
Sorry, babe, we’re gonna have to pick this up later.
CALLAHAN rolls out of bed, grabbing her clothing.
CALLAHAN (muttering)
I’ve gotta stop sleeping with enlisted guys. At least officers get their own quarters.
CUT TO INT. HALLWAY-SPACE
WALSH and CALLAHAN sneak out of DECKER’S quarters. Very carefully making their way down the hallway. WALSH turns a corner and comes face to face with SOPRIN, his ex-wife.
SOPRIN sniffs the air, and then makes a face for a split second. Her normal emotionless mask returns immediately.
SOPRIN
Lieutenant Callahan, I presume?
WALSH scowls at her.
WALSH
Where I come from, it’s rude to telepathically spy on a person during sex.
SOPRIN
I have a great many mental blocks protecting me from our “marriage bond”. However, I have no protection from the pungent odor of your sexual indiscretions.
WALSH
Jealous? Four years of cold fish and a man’s gotta eat some steak.
SOPRIN
I do not feel jealousy nor do I eat meat.
WALSH
I already know that because you told me every five fucking seconds of our relationship.
SOPRIN
Perhaps if you had listened at least once, we would still be married.
WALSH (glare)
Fuck this; I’ve got shit to do.
They walk away but SOPRIN looks over her shoulder, giving an unreadable look at his retreating figure.
CUT TO INT. SHUTTLE BAY TWO
FROST is standing next to the runabouts as new crewmembers check in and new equipment gets off loaded. WOLFE is still wearing combat gear as he approaches from the side.
FROST (chuckle)
Ah…if it isn’t the fearless “Mugato slayer”. Nice shooting.
WOLFE
Do me a favor and make sure that the next contraband we confiscate doesn’t contain a poisonous monkey.
FROST
No promises. (He takes a look at the manifest) By the way, we’re officially operating as a “skeleton crew” now.
WOLFE
I thought we were already a skeleton crew?
FROST
Nope, we were a partial crew. Now we’re a skeleton crew, 140 crewmembers on a ship that’s built for 535.
WOLFE
At least we’ve got extra room.
FROST
I suppose. Speaking of which, Lieutenant Callahan asked for her own quarters a few minutes ago, for the umpteenth time. She is technically an officer; we could give them to her.
WOLFE
You don’t want her to get her own quarters, trust me.
FROST takes another look at his manifest and smiles.
FROST
I’ll be damned.
WOLFE
What?
FROST
Vern! He’s really here.
WOLFE
Who’s Vern?
FROST
Lieutenant Vernral, I haven’t seen him in years.
The sound of heavy footsteps heralds the approach of VERNRAL, a seven foot tall Gorn with rippling muscles. He’s wearing a slightly altered Starfleet uniform (no boots, no legs on the pants, no sleeves on his tunic). The undershirt color of his tunic is blue, he’s a science officer.
VERN’S second eyelids are down as he approaches, giving him the compound eye look from “Arena”. As he steps into lower lighting, he lifts them to display the reptile eyes from ENT. There, continuity fixed.
FROST claps his old friend on the back.
FROST
Long time no see, buddy. How ya’ been?
VERN emits some sort of animal roar but FROST seems to understand it perfectly.
FROST
Well it’s good to have you aboard.
VERN walks out the door, ducking a little so he doesn’t bump his head.
WOLFE is freaked the fuck out.
WOLFE
Is he security? Tactical?
FROST
Stellar Cartography, he’s an astronomer.
CUT TO INT. ENGINE ROOM-SPACE
The turbolift doors open, revealing MUKET and WALSH in the middle of their ship wide tour.
WALSH
…as you can see we’ve already started removing and updating the plasma conduits, I know that was something you said wanted to do, sir, but (annoyed) you were two months late.
MUKET (chagrined)
Ah, yes, well I was deep in the middle of my little pet project at Utopia Planitia at the time and I couldn’t....they wanted the blueprints by Monday so…y’know. (excited) It’s really a funny story actually because the designs for the project were a lot more complicated then-
He stops when he realizes that WALSH looks bored.
MUKET
You don’t really care.
WALSH
Honestly, sir? Not really.
They approach the flashy twenty fourth century engine, which still looks out of place in the 23rd century era engine room.
WALSH
This is the engine, which you know since you helped install it.
MUKET
How’s it been working?
WALSH
It’s a little more powerful then we needed. This ship was designed for exploration so we’ve left a lot of sections dark. Decks 12 and 13, for instance, are completely uninhabited.
DECKER appears, seemingly out of nowhere and he’s holding a futuristic Polaroid-type camera.
WALSH
Now if you notice the computer core has been completely updated using a- (notices Decker) What are you doing here?
DECKER
You should be saying “what are you doing here, sir” and did you tell him yet?
MUKET (perplexed)
Tell me what?
WALSH (to DECKER)
You really have a sick sense of humor, you know that? (to MUKET) Nothing, sir. Now in regards to the computer-
DECKER butts right in and starts pushing MUKET over to the opposite side of the room where a group of uniformed engineers are working on some sort of complex project. All of the officers have their backs turned to him.
DECKER
Oh please ignore my “subordinate”, Mr. Walsh, he’s a little grumpy. I just thought now was the perfect time to introduce you to the senior engineers you’ll be supervising for the rest of our little pleasure cruise. Your predecessor hand picked them and I assure you they are the best people that (emphasizes) the Bajoran Military could loan us on short notice.
A beat. MUKET freezes in terror.
MUKET
The what?
The officers turn to face them; sure enough four out of the five senior engineers are Bajoran with earrings and everything. The woman at the front of the group is a tall brunette Bajoran woman named TANA ZIRAL and she has an equivalent rank of ensign on her neck.
MUKET looks extremely uneasy. The look on his face is positively priceless. The Bajorans also look extremely uneasy, the looks on their faces are pretty funny too.
DECKER lifts his holo camera and takes a picture of MUKET’S face.
Continue on to ACT TWO...